Cesc Fabregas joined Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique in a Barcelona casino before the Catalan pair linked up with the rest of the Barca squad to fly to Manchester.

The Chelsea midfielder travelled to Spain to catch up with his former Nou Camp team-mates ahead of their crunch Champions League tie with Manchester City.

The squad were met by supporters on arrival at the airport in Manchester, where they signed autographs and had their photographs taken.

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The four-time winners will head into the last 16 tie as firm favourites, having topped their group with five wins from six.

Barca knocked City out at this stage last season, winning 4-1 on aggregate over the two legs.

The sides will play the first installment of this year's tie at the Etihad on Tuesday evening, with Blues midfielder Samir Nasri tipping they will go one better than last term.

(Image: Rex)

He said: "I think we respected them too much. But we weren’t experienced enough to compete with a club like this.

"They know how to win a Champions League. I think it was too much of a big game. We were not ready. This year is totally different. We know what we are capable of.

(Image: Reuters)

"We want to beat Barcelona because we want to go as far as possible in the Champions League, not because we want revenge.

"For us it is a different game. We are a better team than last year. We had a couple of players injured [last time the two clubs met]. Everything will be different. We have more experience than last year."